July 6, 2004

It's the federal courts, stupid

The Senate voted 51 to 46 to put J. Leon Holmes on the federal bench in Arkansas after a fierce debate in which some Republican women voted against the president while Democrats from Mr. Holmes's home state, Arkansas, spoke of him in glowing terms.

Mr. Holmes has a record of saying startling things, like his statement that rape victims become pregnant as often as it snows in Miami. He also wrote in 1997 that in a marriage "the woman is to place herself under the authority of the man."

Maybe I'll carry around a copy of this article to brandish at Nader voters. Say what you will about Kerry, he's not going to be nominating judges whose views on women's rights appear to be drawn from the most progressive texts of the 13th century. I know the Middle Ages are all the rage these days, but isn't this taking it a bit too far?